Three more Rafale fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) reached India on February 22, 2022, Tuesday evening from France. The aircraft took off from a French airbase and were provided mid-air refuelling by the Air Force of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). With the arrival of the latest three aircraft, India has now received a total of 35 of the 36 Rafale jets for which it signed a contract with France in September 2016.
With this new arrival of the three jets, the total Rafale fleet with Indian Air Force (IAF) has reached 35. The 36th and final aircraft will arrive in India from France by March- April 2022, and will be a trainer aircraft. In September 2016, India exchanged Rs 59,000 crore deal with France for 36 Rafale fighter jets.